I owe you all letters, but instead you get this

03/16/2014

ACPT

A quick note about the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in Brooklyn last weekend: It was lots and lots of fun. There, I don't think you need to know much else, because you hear the same story every March. Here are 3 of my favorite photos:

These are our main puzzle people, plus or minus a few. We don't sit with them while solving. I don't know why, but we seem to prefer the absolute other side of the room. But we do hang out with them for lunch, drinks, dinner, games, and general kvetching.

These are the puzzle people again. Plus or minus a few, again. I love this photo, and it isn't just because of Vega's bold splash of red in the middle of all the winter black, white, and grey. I mean, look how happy!

Now, what photo shall be number three ... the one with Addie at Starbucks on the way back from dinner? ... the one with Angela playing Celebrity? .... the one with Katie eating doughnuts? ....the one with Mike helping Mike on the Saturday puzzle... the one with Michael looking goofy on the subway?... the one with Brendan and Michael in their orange t-shirts talking animatedly?....the one with Sam reading his scores over Elizabeth's shoulders?.... the one with Erik and his trophy? Hmm.

Looking...okay, no-brainer, here it is: Jennifer and her service dog Justice (but hush, only Jen is supposed to say her name). Last year Michael's incredible readers raised over $10,000 towards the raising and training of Justice. Jen let her off-duty to lick Michael's face for a bit, and he, of course, was transported, because he is a sucker for all good dogs. I'm also including a link to a video Jen made of all the things Justice does for her.

Seriously, best dog ever, I mean, look at this:

Dogs are so good to people and ask for so little in return. We owe the entire species a huge thanks, and the idea that there are dogs who are neglected, homeless, or abused just seems like a lack of gratitide from humankind. I know and understand that you aren't all dog people, and I'm not expecting you to change, but we wouldn't be here without them.

ps. I took no photos of our off-tournament dinner (and walk up Fulton St through Friday night Brooklyn to her apartment) with Michelle, or our quick visit with other Michelle while she drove us across the Hudson to the Beacon train station, or our stop for brunch at Butterfield's in Deposit, but just know that each of those was a treat.

1 Comment

Hi again! So nice to see you both at the ACPT; I really enjoyed spending time with both of you & thanks for the nice posting. Here's a link to my blog, which has a few more pictures from the Tournament: http://connecticutgardener.blogspot.com/